Mike Mastovich: 'Exciting time': Johnstown Red Wings, despite losing record in their only season, hold special place in city's hockey lore

Feb. 2—A 19-year-old hometown kid, Jeff Mastervich never played a minute in goal for the Johnstown Red Wings at Cambria County War Memorial Arena.

But Mastervich's unexpected call to serve as emergency backup netminder late in the 1979-80 Eastern Hockey League season provided him an experience — and memory — he still cherishes more than four decades later.

"Their goaltender, Dave Johns, had gotten hurt. I got a call to practice with the Red Wings," said Mastervich, a Conemaugh Valley High School graduate who was playing hockey at Eastern Michigan University at the time. "I went and practiced with them. I thought that was it.

"After the practice, they hadn't found somebody who could suit up. They called me back. Then, I called my coach at Eastern Michigan to see about my (NCAA) eligibility. I got the green light."

'Hockey Heritage'

The Johnstown Tomahawks will spotlight the hard-luck, 1979-80 Johnstown Red Wings as part of a hockey heritage game against the Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks at 7 p.m. Saturday at 1st Summit Arena.

The Tomahawks will wear commemorative Johnstown Red Wings-style uniforms and a special video presentation will be shown on the scoreboard, recognizing a 24-45-1 team that didn't have much on-ice success, but had plenty of colorful players and interesting storylines.

Count Mastervich's among those quirky Red Wings stories.

A former stick boy with the Johnstown Wings a year earlier, he was the first Johnstown native who dressed in a regular-season professional hockey game with a local franchise.

Mastervich backed up goaltender Bill Milner in a 3-2 loss to the Hampton Aces in front of 1,758 fans on Feb. 29, 1980 (a leap year).

"There were people I knew who were at the game yelling for me to get in," said Mastervich, laughing. "There were no fights, no bench-clearing brawls for me to get involved in, but it was an exciting time."

Costas revisits local tiesAdding to the historic theme this weekend, iconic former NBC Sports personality Bob Costas, a 28-time Emmy Award winner, will make appearances during both Friday (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday games at the War Memorial.

Costas called Syracuse Blazers games against the Johnstown Jets at the War Memorial during his first season in the radio booth 50 years ago and eventually returned as part of the NBC Sports television broadcast of the Kraft Hockeyville USA game in September 2015.

"It's great that the Tomahawks do those kinds of things," said Mastervich, 62, who lamented that out-of-state work commitments will prevent him from attending this weekend's games.

Shaw's veteran presence

In 1979-80, Harry Shaw was nearing the end of a lengthy professional hockey career that dated to the 1964-65 season when he played in 52 games with the Johnstown Jets in the original Eastern Hockey League. Shaw skated in cities such as Phoenix, Tulsa, Rochester, Dallas, New Haven and Long Beach before returning to Johnstown.

The defenseman played for the Johnstown Wings in 1978-79, as hockey returned to the city after a one-year absence due to the 1977 Johnstown Flood.

As a 36-year-old minor league hockey veteran, Shaw joined the fledgling Red Wings, operated by a group of local business and community leaders who stepped up after the Johnstown Wings team folded after only one season.

"I had retired. The Wings needed some help and Johnny Mitchell called me," Shaw said of the locally legendary former Johnstown Jets and Wings general manager. "They had a new team with some young defensemen. Johnny asked if I could come out and help. They offered me better money than when I was playing before. It swayed me."

Shaw stuck around when the Red Wings formed.

"It was an easy adjustment from the American Hockey League and Western League, to come back and play the younger players," Shaw said. "It was like starting again, but I had the experience. I got used to traveling on the bus again."

'Nice to get recognized'

Shaw was a fan favorite, known for his physical play, leadership and sense of humor.

This past weekend, Shaw joined Jets legends Jim Mair, Billy Ives and Reg Kent for a reunion ahead of the Tomahawks honoring Mair for his role on teams in the 1960s.

"I've been out of the game for so long," said Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec native Shaw, 80, who retired after the 1979-80 season, but stayed in Johnstown.

"It's nice to get recognized, but I'm not about seeking the recognition."

Marty Read coached the 1979-80 Johnstown Red Wings in a new Eastern Hockey League. The Jets had played in the original EHL from 1950 through the pre-flood 1976-77 season.

"The Detroit Red Wings sent players in to Johnstown," Shaw said of the National Hockey League parent club.

Steigerwald started in Johnstown

Longtime Pittsburgh Penguins television and radio personality Paul Steigerwald had his start in sports broadcasting by calling Johnstown Red Wings games on the former WJNL radio station in Cover Hill during the 1979-80 season.

General Manager Al Blade hired Steigerwald after WJNL's Bill Confer listened over the phone to Steigerwald's audition tape.

"They paid me $110 a week," Steigerwald said during an interview with The Tribune-Democrat during the 2008 Stanley Cup Final in Detroit.

"The Detroit Red Wings at the time had over 70 players under contract — way too many," Steigerwald said during the interview. "They were not very good at the NHL level that season. They had some players at Johnstown that should have been in the American Hockey League, but they weren't.

"They were miserable that they were playing (at the low minor league level) and they didn't play as hard as they should. We had enough talent that we should have been one of the best teams in the league."

MacQueen scored 50 goals 1979-80 season

The talent included Dave MacQueen, a 50-goal scorer who collected 110 points. Later as a coach, MacQueen made it to the NHL as an assistant with the Tampa Bay Lightning (1996-98). He was the Ontario Hockey League coach of the year with Erie in 2001 and led the Otters to the OHL championship the next season.

Pierre Tremblay scored 26 goals and 75 points with the Johnstown Red Wings, and Colin Ahern had 24 goals and 74 points in 1979-80. Veteran Jim Cardiff, 35, played defense.

Goaltender David Johns had a team-high nine wins, and Bill Milner won eight games.

The Red Wings were set to play in 1980-81, but the Eastern League folded. Johnstown didn't have professional hockey again until the Johnstown Chiefs entered the All-American Hockey League midway through the 1987-88 season.

The Chiefs became a founding member of the East Coast Hockey League in 1988-89 and played 22 seasons before the franchise moved to Greenville, South Carolina, in 2010.

The Tomahawks began play in Johnstown in 2012-13 and are in their 12th NAHL season.

"If you had told me they would have a league here where the players don't make money and have their own equipment, I wouldn't believe it," Shaw said of the current Junior level franchise. "They've come a long way.

"Now, the players are all dying to come play here because it gives them a foot in the door to go to college tryouts. It's amazing."

Mike Mastovich is a sports reporter and columnist for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at (814) 532-5083. Follow him on Twitter @Masty81.